The city of lies
by Nebelblau
Summary: They call Nortis an affluent city, the most prosperous in North Blue. They call it the perfect city, never touched by the problems of the world. The people living there also call it the city of lies because nothing is what it seems.
1. Chapter 1

Bellamy barely remembered what his mother looked like. He doubted he ever had memories of his father but there were some faint pictures in his mind. Maybe they were the product of wishful thinking, maybe they weren't, he stopped caring a long time ago.

* * *

"You'll like it, I promise. "  
They took another turn.  
"You'll have a much bigger room. "  
Her heels cackled loudly through the empty streets every time they hit the paved streets. Each step echoed through the high buildings.  
"They can buy you new toys. You'll like them, I promise. "  
It was still early.  
"Mum!"  
The boy whose hand she held protested.  
Bellamy had been there before, at the place his mum wanted to take him to. It was this posh (he didn't know what the word really meant, just that he didn't like it at all) house with their horrible relatives inside. They were somebody's parents or uncle and aunt, he didn't remember whose but most likely his mum's.  
There had been way to many knifes that you had to use in a certain order, touching anything was forbidden (including door handles and stair rails). Scratch the touching part, anything that could be called activity was forbidden. He had loathed that place, he still loathed it and would continue to loath it with passion.

* * *

His mum stopped and turned around. He couldn't read her face. She was tired and out of breath but other than that he couldn't place her look. He knew she didn't like this place either, she had cracked an endless amount of jokes over this hell of rules with him. Wordlessly, she tried to fix his hair one last time. She had spent half an hour trying to comp his hair into staying in place but it started to point back into all directions after five minutes.  
"It's the way it's supposed to be. "  
She lowered down to reach his height, she was a tall woman even without the obligatory heels.  
"You can't live here without sticking to the rules. "  
"Screw the rules then, mum. I'm not staying without you at this hellhole ", he answered angrily. She raised her finger instantly.  
"Language!", she scolded him. "Look, sweetheart, your new home has everything you need and I can't give you that. It's said that every kid needs a mother and a father and a big room with new toys 'cause only good-for-nothings can't provide all and kids of those people don't turn into honest citizens. "  
He had heard this rant before, in the very same house they were heading to, but it hadn't been directed at him the last time.  
"Honest? I'll have to call them "mother" and "father", that's a lie and everyone says liars get hanged. Those rules are stupid, they don't even stick to themselves. "  
His mum's gaze softened and she started to look a little sad.  
"Don't you think I know that myself already. Your old mum lived here for long enough to notice this city of lies but it can't be helped. This city is expensive and I don't have the money to raise you any longer. Good schools are expensive, getting good jobs is expensive."  
"You aren't old mum. "  
She sighed.

* * *

It was still quite early when they arrived at their destination. The house was in one of the better parts of an already rich city. It was three stories tall and even had a garden. "Father" had been in the army or the marines once (maybe both, those two organizations started to overlap more and more in the last years) and kept boasting about how far his hard work got him. Mum always said he was simply corrupt, just like all of his neighbours were but she prohibited her boy from repeating those words in front of "father".  
She pulled her son into one last hug before ringing the door bell.  
"Just behave and I'll promise you'll like it. You'll get used to it and ain't that bad after a while."  
Almost silent she added, hoping he might not hear her: "Maybe we can run away one day, together."

* * *

Bellamy didn't get used to it and he never stopped loathing the huge house. The worst part was not only being required to call those strangers "mother" and "father" but to answer "yes" whenever somebody asked him if he was their son. A few people asked, wondering why "father" failed to mention he had a young son. "Father" would always say something along the lines of "not wanting to introduce a toddler to society yet" when he was in a good mood or simply hiss something about not sticking noses in private business when he was in a bad mood. On most days, he was in a bad mood and so was his wife.

Too young to attend school, he spent most of the time locked in his room. In there were new toys, the kind of toys that should nudge a boy into a military career. Bellamy actually liked most of them, especially the naval ones. Mum had always taken him to the harbour whenever he had been too jumpy, which had happened a lot. The age of piracy had just started and the harbour was constantly overflowed with ships. She never had had the money to buy him the expensive replicas of ships, so she often brought him clippings from newspapers or magazines instead.  
Most of the ships in the newspapers had belonged to pirates and he had always been much more interested in them than he had been in the standardized marine ships. At some point he started to peel the blue colour off and painted the sails black instead. Then he hid his own personal ship deep under his bed.

* * *

It was two weeks later that his new parents decided that a boy from the same street could come over. News and rumours travelled fast around this specific neighbourhood and it didn't take long until one of his "mother's" friends pointed out that she had a son around the same age.  
Bellamy was roughly woken up early in the morning the next day and put into a dress shirt. They also tried to keep his hair in place and he stuck out his tongue in disgust when "mother" used her very expensive setting spray on his stubborn hair. Needless to say, his hair still reflected their owner's will and refused to stay in place.

The other boy had also been forcibly put into fine clothing, albeit at least his blue hair stayed in place. It was however a tad longer than usual because he always made a scene whenever somebody tried to cut it into a proper boy's style.  
The other boy's name was Sarkies and they both pulled a grimace when they were introduced to each other. Then, they were quickly shuffled into Bellamy's room. Alone, as neither of their set of parents ever bothered with spending too much time with their children anyway.  
Sarkies glanced around the seemingly tidy and therefore uninteresting room before sitting down with a huff.  
"Seems like you hate those adult rules as much as I do", Bellamy stated.  
"You'll bet ", the other boy answered with a smirk on his face.  
"Man, I wish I could be like a pirate, just travelling on my own ship and do whatever I want", Bellamy further lamented.  
"Yeah, that must a great life. I'll join you on your ship."  
They instantly liked each other, bonding over the dislike for their families' overly regulated lifestyle. So naturally, Sarkies was the first person he told about his biggest secret.  
He crawled under his bed and ascended with his pirate ship. Sarkies stared at the item with wide eyes before praising it with a whistle.  
"Is there more exciting stuff in your house?

* * *

They spent around half an hour plotting before they wrecked havoc around the house. Sarkies knew a lot of pranks and he had figured out how you can avoid getting spotted. Rarely used water taps were blocked with glue and graffiti was left in odd places. Technically, both of them only knew how to spell their name but Sarkies had a list of curse words given to him by an older relative.  
Bellamy himself decided to paint jolly rogers next to them instead, his lines were clear rather than the shaky chicken scratch most five years olds drew. Even weeks later, he still burst out in laughter every time his guardians discovered yet another prank, never finding out how they happened. Not having any prove for his involvement never stopped father from punishing him though.

Play dates with other children were strictly regulated, so he didn't end up with the wrong crowd. "Mother" always wringed her nose in disgust whenever she talked about families from less affluent parts. Every sign of his former upbringing should be eliminated, so only selected children from certain families were allowed to play with him. Those children from other boring families who just bore him to death. Their entire playtime session was scripted, the good marines always won, the distressed princess always needed to be saved and don't dare to improvise.  
One time however, he did improvise when no other adult watched over him and three other children.

* * *

Halfway through the repetitive script Bellamy hauled his secret pirate ship out, knocking over an especially big marine ship.  
"Victory for the pirates!"  
Two of the others were gasping, one was even close to tears. It amused him. The third simply cheered loudly, Sarkies had somehow managed to pass for the right crowd.  
"What are you doing, we're not allowed to do this!", one of them cried out.  
"So what, it's more realistic that way", he snarled back. "Marines don't always win, just last week three of their ships were sunk by pirates." He stuck his tongue out and formed a mischievous smile. Behind him a loud snort was heard.  
"Saying otherwise is lying and you know what happens to liars."  
The cry baby jumped on his feet and pointed his finger at him.  
"I'm gonna tell daddy!"  
Bellamy slowly stood up himself, towering half a head over the other boy who was actually a few months older than him. The accusing finger faltered and his owner grew visibly smaller.  
"Sure. What do you wanna tell your daddy? That you're a lil' liar?  
The smaller boy gulped, then a certain glint appeared in his eyes. "Well, at least I've got a daddy-"  
He didn't get any further before a fist knocked him down.

* * *

He had to shield his ears as soon as the crying started and the adults quickly stormed his room.  
"What happened?! "  
"Honey Bob, you're bleeding!"  
"Waah, he hit meee! It didn't do anything!"  
"Answer me instantly, what happened!?"  
"Father's" angry screaming ringed in his ears but he was almost used to it by now.  
"Excuse, me but he's lying."  
The third child who had been quiet the entire time, suddenly spoke. He pointed at the crybaby who was still bawling. "Father" quickly turned around.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, he had been already telling lies the entire day and your son got annoyed by it, the last one was simply too much."  
"Pray tell, what was the last lie?"  
"Oh, he said your son doesn't have a father as if you don't exist, sir."  
The boy said the last sentence in the most innocent and sweet voice he could muster and Bellamy was surprised at how real it sounded. The crybaby had gotten audible more quiet, knowing he was soon to be in huge trouble. That's how every adult knew that the story was true.  
"Father" gave him a glare that said "we're not finished, yet" but he quickly left the room with the injured boy and the other adults.  
"I hid your pirate boat." Sarkies said after the door was being closed.  
"It's a ship not a boat but thanks anyway. Man, "father" better doesn't find out about it or he'll destroy it."  
"You know, you were right", the third boy said. "About the pirates winning."  
"You bet I was."  
"My name's Eddy by the way."

* * *

Eddy was slightly older and much more soft spoken than he was. He also thought the adult's rules were plainly stupid because he knew at least one pampered princess that could help herself fine.  
He also knew how he could manipulate adults, something the other two never really bothered with. "Mother" and "father" didn't like him, the feeling was mutual and pretending otherwise was just a waste of time.  
"You really need to work on your temper."  
Bellamy stuck his tongue out and Eddy sighed loudly.

He didn't know how Eddy managed to convince his parents but one week later he was allowed to visit him. Him and his sister Lily who insisted in joining every naval battle. He had to learn the hard way, what a pampered princess that can help herself actually meant. Her entire room was full of glitter and she even tried to comb his hair in order make him prettier. On the other hand, she did know how to turn plastic horses and ballet shoes into painful weapons so he didn't mind her joining their crew.  
Her, not the hair comb.

* * *

Once he entered school, the tight grip of "mother" on his schedule loosened a little, mostly because he learned that she never checked his exact time table. Invent a little group project here, add a few extra lessons here and he was free to roam the city for the entire afternoon.  
When Bellamy was six and a half, during a rather cold winter day, he discovered the second face of the city.  
The city had a complicated sewer system that was itself linked together with numerous subterraneous paths used for transporting goods and old catacombs. It was the city's underworld, not just literally but metaphorically as well.  
Bellamy had found an unused room in the catacombs and decided to turn it into his headquarters. Some small holes, just big enough to fit a volley ball through it were connected to one of the lower levels. Through these holes, the voices of adults meeting there could sometimes be heard. The voices were rough and gruff and used the most colourful language the child had ever heard and he had heard "father's" longwinded rants after a few to many pints.  
He was the most excited he had ever been once he put two and two together and figured out what these strange adults who kept talking about stock prizes and deliveries actually were. They were brokers, criminals and most important, pirates. They were not just some newspaper article or some hushed rumour, they had become real.  
Pirates, he idolized them. He collected every wanted poster he could get his hands on and even sorted them by names. It was the only thing in his entire room that had any form of order in it.  
He wondered if some of those very same pirates actually visited the underworld from time to time. It was too bad he had no idea what their voices actually sounded like.

* * *

Within the next months, their headquarters were slowly turned from an unwelcoming stone room into a cosy base. They carried some furniture down and sheets to cover up holes. The walls were filled with numerous cards and wanted posters. They created their own little part of the underworld. As words spread around the cities' children, their crew grew bigger. Big enough that there needed to be entrance exams. Can you throw a good punch? Kicks are fine as well just don't be a wussy. Oh, you brought your knives, Sarkies. You're definitely the vice captain then.

When he was eight, Bellamy sneaked out of his room at night for the first time. He had grown another five inches and was now tall enough to climb on the roof of the small garden house underneath his room. The most interesting visitors always came at night.

Somehow, they had managed to install a looking glass through one of the shafts. Now they could finally see the criminal at the meeting point, rather than just listening.  
The first night was rather unspectacular as he found out later but at this particular moment he didn't care. He watched carefully how goons rolled barrels around and tried to sell their goods for the best prize. He heard them bragging about their raids and discussing their next ones.

The second night was when things finally got exciting.


	2. Chapter 2

The night started out the same as the day before at first. Pirates hauled their loot in and everybody tried to scam each other.

Suddenly, the mood shifted completely.  
Even the loudest market screamers fell silent instantly.  
Bellamy could feel the hairs on back of his neck stand on end. Even though nobody could hear him, he breathed as quiet as possible. It was like he could feel the presence of a person looming over him.  
Then, the whispers started. At first, the words were hard to make out, as the sounds were distorted as they passed through the shaft.

* * *

"Is this really him?"  
"Why? What is he doing here?"

Slowly, he could make out a few phrases. His anticipation grew even stronger. A strong pirate had arrived at the port, that was certain. A few men even started to faint.  
Bellamy turned his head to the wanted posters, despite the dim light he could still picture them clearly in his mind. North Blue had been in a constant state of war for decades and there was no shortage of pirates ever since.

"Do...te...fla...go."

There were a few syllables of a rather long name that Bellamy could make out, those fragments didn't seem to match any of the wanted posters. At first, the boy thought that this was strange but than he remembered that the marines didn't not know about every pirate in the world. There had always been stories of powerful and cunning pirates that had managed to keep a low profile for years or even decades, acting like a puppet player hidden behind a curtain.

His curiosity got the better of him and Bellamy returned his attention to the looking glass.  
Down there two men seemed to be doing a funny dance but their faces were full of fear and despair. They pleaded a man the boy could not see to finally release them from his control.  
Only a low chuckle echoed through the catacombs.

* * *

"A devil fruit...he has the power of the devil...the rumours were true!"

Bellamy was livid.  
Of course he had heard of devil fruits and the mysterious powers they gave their consumer. Only the strongest pirates managed to acquire one of these forbidden fruits as their prize was outrageous. Even witnessing these powers was a rare occurrence, for those living outside the Grand Line it was often a once in a live time event.

Finally, the owner of the devil fruit powers appeared into his view, albeit only from behind. He was incredibly tall with a pink coat hanging around his shoulders. He wore the brightest colours Bellamy had ever seen on a person, a stark contrast to the grey walls around him.  
The man was also hovering a few feet above the ground and a short "wow" escaped the boy's lips.  
"Did you really think I would fall for your little ruse?", his loud voice boomed, the pirate still sounded young despite having a deep voice. Then he turned around.  
A huge grin was plastered over his face, the upper half was covered by a pair of fancy sunglasses. The prints on his shirt and trousers were as extravagant as their colour.  
He laughed.  
It was a maniacal crescendo that made even the toughest pirate shudder in fear.  
The laugh gave Bellamy chills, it was exciting. On one hand it filled him with fear, on the other hand he wanted to join in. The laugh had a certain kind of charisma in it.

* * *

Bellamy had always wanted to be a pirate but until now he didn't know what kind of pirate he wanted to be.  
He did knew however, that he never wanted to became a dreamer.

"Donquixote Doflamingo, have mercy with me!", a loud scream hollered, full of panic. Bellamy was shaken out of his thoughts immediately. The name was very unusual but that was only fitting for its owner and it also explained the pink coat. He briefly wondered if Doflamingo wore this colourful coat so people wouldn't mess up his name but he quickly shook it off.  
Suddenly a gut-wrenching yell came from the pirate begging for mercy. He fell over and a small pool of blood former underneath him.

Silence followed.

"Weaklings don't get to choose their deaths, don't you ever dare to beg for your lives in front of me."  
Doflamingo said these words in his usual low chuckle, yet he sounded as could as ice and spat his words like venom.

* * *

It was close to 5 am when Bellamy snuck back into his room and he was almost caught by the maid turning up for work. Despite the late hour, the boy didn't even think about sleeping as his heart was still racing, pumping adrenaline through his body.  
This Doflamingo was a real devil fruit user and not only that, his sole appearance made grown men shudder in fear.  
Bellamy hadn't shuddered in fear and he even hadn't looked away when the man was slain by the much stronger pirate, an achievement that filled him with pride.

As the adrenaline slowly left his veins, the boy's thoughts started to drift off. Somehow some old memories sneaked back into his mind.  
The first was the constant sound of a radio, the speaker had kept announcing she's reporting live from Rogue Town. The storm keeps getting worse, live from Rogue Town, more and more ships turn up at the port, despite the port having reached it's maximum capacity last week, live from Rogue Town. He had been sitting in his mother's lap who had listened closely to the radio. He had heard their neighbour listening to the same program through the thin walls.

* * *

Suddenly, the crowd and the speaker had felt silent and only the voice of one man had come through the radio. It had been Gold Roger, the king of pirates, who had sent out every pirate to search for the One Piece he had hidden somewhere before being executed.  
The cheers had been so loud, that his mother had quickly turned the volume down. Still, he could remember the last words of the speaker.  
"Today, the era of piracy is over!"

The radio speaker had been terribly wrong and the marines had been awfully wrong as well.  
Only a week later, his mother had brought him to the port which was full of colourful ships and people. She had put him in her shoulders, so he could see them properly.  
"Look, Bellamy, those are pirates!"  
"What are they doin' ?"  
"Follow their dreams", she announced in a cheerful voice.  
In the months that followed, his mother had joined the group of people who kept visiting the port regularly. There she had explained her son everything she knew about ships.

"This is a clipper, most merchants use one. Oh, look, a real dreadnaught, these guys better hurry up before the marines spot them."  
Most of the people at the port had been waiting for somebody to return from the sea. He had once asked if they were also waiting but his mother only have him a cryptic answer.  
"You'll see little one, you'll see."

* * *

About a year after Gold Roger's death, the first pirates had returned.  
Their ships had been wrecks and their crews had looked like walking corpses. Everyone had been shocked and after a while, the families of those who hasn't returned had screamed full of grief. It had been a horrifying sight, yet his mother had continued to return, over and over.  
"At least he died while following his dreams", people kept preaching to those who had lost a loved one.  
"What's the point if you're dead...", Bellamy had uttered under his breath.  
His mother had been waiting but she had never been among those who fell into the ground wailing in grief.  
Faintly, Bellamy remembered a man standing in the door frame, a huge grin on his face. Thad he had left, waving his hand.

After a few years, pirates had stopped turning up at the port. There was still a huge number of people who sailed to the Grand Line, the marines simply caught those dreamy weaklings nowadays and put them into their prisons. As much as Bellamy disliked the marines, he would have never blamed them for doing so.

"Mothers" stormed in two hours later, demanding to know why Bellamy hasn't turn up for breakfast yet. Once she entered his room, she paused. The dark circles around his eyes had drawn her attention, then she looked over to his open window.  
"Well, look it this. Leaving your window open for the entire night you've managed to catch a cold, you silly child. Serves you right for your forgetfulness."  
Bellamy simply stuck his tongue out which resulted in an angry huff from "mother".

* * *

Bellamy ran straight to their hideout at afternoon, Sarkies and Lily dropped their poker game in surprise when he raced down the stairs.  
"Guys, you never believe what happened last night!"  
The Bellamy pirates listened to the story of their captain with wide eyes. They knew he was telling the truth because they had heard the name "Donquixote Doflamingo" being whispered through the catacombs before Bellamy arrived. Also, the dark shadows under his eyes were still visible.

A prominent place was made for the future wanted poster of said pirate, whenever it might appear in the newspapers. While the wanted poster didn't arrive for the longest time, Doflamingo himself frequently returned to the underground port and often brought his crew with him, which he referred to as his family. For the entire Bellamy pirates, this family felt more like a real family than their own.

In his ninth birthday, Bellamy finally finished his own jolly roger. He had put it up in the attic so the paint could dry properly. He folded the fabric as small as possible, then he put it under his arm before making his way to their hideout. Sarkies greeted him halfway through curious at the design of their jolly roger. During the entire way, the kept talking about Doflamingo's latest adventures. Bellamy accidently dropped the flag when Sarkies tried to peek and the full glory of pink lips on crossed bones unleashed itself on a side street.

* * *

"Damnit!"

The two boys quickly looked around but no adult was nearby. They were about to roll the flag up again until they heard a scream from the balcony above them.  
"Pirates!", an elderly woman yelled into a den den mushi. "In my street! You have to send over an officer immediately! No, better send a frigate captain!"  
The boys simply grabbed the fabric and ran into their hideout as fast as they could. They highly doubted that this woman had any clue about where they ran at but they were nervous nevertheless. Their crew members eyed them with suspicion, therefore Bellamy explained them the situation once he had caught his breath again. They decided to leave their hideout and split up in groups looking out for any patrolling marine officer. If any of those happened to look for pirates, they would simply point him into the wrong direction, far away from their hideout.

Bellamy went with Rivers and Mani but even as they passed the side street, they didn't spot any marine soldier. Even the elderly lady had stopped yelling at the poor marine on telephone duty, instead she was watering her vast collection of flowers. He could feel a soft brush of air, as if something had felt down nearby but there was no noise.  
Bellamy grinned at his crew mates.  
"I guess it was a false alarm."  
Then he preceded to laugh, in his usual loud manner. Weirdly, the elderly woman didn't start yelling at him, almost as if she didn't heard him.  
Bellamy's laughter abruptly ended when he was pulled up by his collar.  
"Gotcha!"

* * *

He was lifted face to face with a tall, blonde marine soldier who was smoking a cigarette. Bellamy tried to muster the most innocent look he could which never had been very convincing. The marine soldier simply rose an eye brow before pointing towards the print of Bellamy's tank top. Painting the lips that stuck out a tongue on his top as a form a exercise had seemed like a genius idea as nobody would deceiver their meaning without the crossbones. Unfortunately, that old woman still had pretty good eyes. Rivers and Mani had quickly ran into the next street after their Captain had been caught, watching the scene from afar.  
Bellamy huffed in annoyance before sticking his tongue out. He still had his pride.  
The marine soldier sighed.  
"A bunch of children playing pirate...a false alarm indeed."  
Then he pulled the boy closer.  
"Tell me, how does a small boy like you know the name Doflamingo?"  
Bellamy almost bit his tongue. The name of his idol still didn't appear in any news paper, despite the fact that the boy knew of numerous stunts he had pulled of.  
"Father mentioned him during dinner, he works with the marines from time to time", he quickly blared out, not believing a single word he said himself. Children from North Blue were notoriously bad at lying and Bellamy was no expectation due to the fact he had zero control over his facial expressions. If he was happy he doubles over laughing, if he was angry he threw daggers with his eyes.

* * *

"Well, it doesn't matter were you heard his name, boy. Frankly you can paint as many jolly rogers as you want and play pirate as much as you please for all I care. Just remember that the pirate Doflamingo is a very cruel person. Children like you should stay away from him as far as they can."  
The marine soldier wasn't even scolding him which took Bellamy by complete surprise as he had brazen himself for a lengthy lecture. The eyes of the marine soldier were completely honest when he talked to him, which was very different from all the other adults.  
Slowly the man's uniform was set ablaze by his cigarette.

The elderly woman dropped her watering pot once she noticed the flames underneath her. The water inside poured down on the marine soldier, extinguishing the fire. The watering pot fell down right next to him without making a single sound.  
Bellamy stared at the object with suspicion, which didn't go unnoticed by the marine soldier.  
"Are you wondering why you didn't hear anything?", he asked with a certain smirk in his face.  
"Maybe?", Bellamy answered, not hiding his curiosity successfully.  
"I'm a devil fruit user."  
Bellamy perked up with a certain glitter in his eyes.  
"I'm a soundless man who has eaten the Silence Fruit. I can nullify all sounds."  
He slowly lowered Bellamy to the ground.  
"No pirate can escape me."  
Bellamy just stared back at him with an unusually blank expression.  
"Boring", the boy announced loudly, much to the frustration of the marine soldier.  
"Come on, you're a child. You could at least pretend to be excited."  
"Can you at set yourself on fire again? That's much cooler. Was that some kind of distraction technique?"  
"Yes, of course it was."  
"Somehow I have the feeling you're nothing but a klutz..."

* * *

Bellamy never saw this marine soldier ever again but the new seat of heart that joined the Donquixote pirates years later seemed somewhat familiar. In the other hand, this Corazon had multiple tattoos in his face and "father" always ranted that no proper marine would ever get tattoos like some kind of punk. Bellamy didn't trust "father" much but his description of the nature of marines were usually accurate.

Shortly before his fifteenth birthday Bellamy grew so tall that his head could hit the wooden beams of their hideout. He had spent most of his time down there for the last five months after having constant arguments with his "parents". They wanted to sign him of to the marines as fast they could and the lowest age at the nearest base was fifteen.

Bellamy and his crew had managed to successfully raid a crew full of dreamers a few years older. While they didn't have a big loot, they did manage to acquire a seaworthy vessel from them. Him and Sarkies would go to the underground port in a few days and store the ship there until they were ready to set sails. They both could pass for adults, especially inside the dimly lit catacombs. Half of their loot would be wasted paying the fees alone but it was worth it as the ship could sail the North Blue. They would need a new one for the Grand Line though.

* * *

It was very easy to find out Doflamingo's location as he was currently the biggest broker in North Blue. He didn't change locations as frequently as he used to do, an old vendor told them when they asked about his whereabouts.  
"The island he's on is about three days away for experienced sailors but you newbies better calculate for a week."

It took them five and a half days to reach their destination and it was already afternoon by the time they hit the shore.  
Bellamy watched the busy port for a moment, with all those colourful pirate ships it resembled the port of Nortis when he was still a toddler. The pirates looked much different though, they were hardened veterans and not dreamers with rosy cheeks. He truly enjoyed the sight of a proper pirate town, the smell of salt, grilled meat and alcoholic beverages in the air. He would definitely set up his base in such a town.

Finding the bar Doflamingo frequented was easy, the just had to ask for the most expensive one. Bellamy had to fight the sudden urge to fix his hair while he stood in front of the entrance.

Then he walked through the door without looking back.


End file.
